If you are up for a new phone soon but still have a little time left to wait I am telling you it will be worth the wait because in the upcoming month there are some pretty nice phones/phablets ahead of us. In this article I want to tell you which devices are rumored to come out soon and what they will offer. Since they aren’t officially announced yet and all specs are still leaks and rumors I want you to spare me if not all of those specs will also be available in the final version. But I still want to take the chance to show what could be coming and which one to look out for. I will take some of the specs of the Android News I already released but they will contain updated content if any rumors got new leaked information. So let’s get started…
HTC One Max (T6)
- Snapdragon 800 2.3GHz quad-core
- 5.9″ 1080p display
- 2GB of RAM
- 16GB of internal storage
- UltraPixel back-facing camera
- 2.1MP front-facing camera w/ wide-angle lens
- 3,300mAh battery
- Key Lime Pie (Android version unknown)
No new rumors since last time, but lets take a look at this again. If you read my blog about the Snapdragon 800 you should already know this is the one to get this year if you want the best. The rest of the specs looks pretty good for a new HTC flagship as well. Powered by the QSD800 the 3300mAh battery should probably be enough to hold up through the day but only with moderate usage I would assume, it should be good but not breathtaking. I don’t really expect that much improvement on the camera part but we’ll have to see about that. 16GB storage are maybe enough but only with expendable storage and I doubt such a thing will be available outside of Asia which is a shame. I hope this will change to at least 32GB until the release. The display should be nothing less than excellent again, I don’t expect anything less from HTC. It is supposed to be built out of aluminum, I am curious though how heavy and big this will get with the 5.9″ display. Design-wise you should expect something pretty close to the original One which definitely isn’t a bad thing, even though I am personally not that big of an aluminum fan because of possible dents and scratched, other material withstand such things just better.
LG G2
We don’t have that much detailed leaks here but at least we know the really important ones.
- 5″ FullHD Display
- Snapdragon 800
- 2GB RAM, latest rumors even talk about 3GB RAM
- 13MP Camera
- at least Android 4.2.2
that’s it for now but that’s what mostly matters. This means the performance will be top-notch and the display should also be stunning, LG really makes great displays which can hold up to HTC and Samsung. Sadly there are no rumors on the battery size yet, this will be a crucial part for the right amount of success. But this alone won’t do it. Build quality and innovation are very important as well to stand out against the competition. Rumors and leaked photos shows us volume buttons and something that is supposed to be a notification light on the back. Yes on the back, that’s a novelty for sure. It looks very much like they decided to go wait a glossy plastic again, seems to be a trend in South-Korea, one I can’t really accept and approve. But at least it looks to be very slim in all dimensions. I really like what they did on the Optimus G Pro bezel-wise. It is rumored to be LG’s most sophisticated and best phone to date. But on the other hand every new flagship should match this criteria in my opinion. Expandable storage is to be expected from LG and that’s good I think. I don’t expect anything special with the camera though, but nothing bad either.
Sony i1 (Honami)
- 5.0-inch screen at 1920×1080 Triluminos, OptiContrast, X-Reality Engine, 2000:1 + Contrast Ratio
– Snapdragon 800, clocked at 2.3 ghz
– 2 GB RAM
– 3000mAh battery
– NFC
– WIFI Miracast
– 32 GB Internal memory, with MicroSD slot
– 4G LTE
– IR Remote
– 2/3″ 20/13 MP Exmor RS camera with Sony G lens, a Cybershot Camera, and Interchangeable lenses
– BlueTooth 4.0
– 1080p, 2.2 Megapixel front camera
– Android 4.2.2
– Shatterproof front glass
– Metal and/or Carbon Fiber shell
I’ve talked quite a lot about this phone in my blog if this could be the base of the next Nexus. I am not sure about this anymore after what the latest leaked pictures show us. No new specs, those still seem solid and realistic, but it is the design that disappoints me the most. I wrote my article way before I saw any real hint how the phone will look like. But now we even have leaked press shots. My initial wish for Sony after talking about “One Sony” device and most probably ditching the Xperia brand was a total redisign. I’m not saying the Xperia lineup is ugly, but it feels like it still should be put to rest. We haven’t seen anything of the back yet so there is still some hope left for bigger changes even though I doubt it. It is rumored to be waterproof like the Z, so the back should be similar as well. About the front, yeah not really impressive. The bezels looks way too thick, I would have like to see more something like the ZL offered, that best designed Xperia phone in my opinion besides the somewhat ugly back cover. The aluminum frame is a nice idea and a carbon fiber back could really change my opinion about the device a lot. The button layout is the 2nd following Nokia as the clear winner. Nokia’s positioning of the buttons on the side the absolute ideal solution for me, Sony did it right once before though on the Xperia ZL. A centered power button and the volume rocker above. Sony decided to put it below. Not a perfect solution, but not the best either. It is better than the rest of the Android competition for sure. The camera should be one of the best features. The latest rumors also mention the 20MP camera will even allow to shoot 4K videos and Sony will also deliver an updated UI.
Oppo Find 7
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor (unknown clock speed)
- 5 inch 1920×1080 display
- 2GB RAM
- 13 megapixel rear camera
- 8 megapixel front facing camera
- NFC enabled
- 4000mAh battery
This phone is already officially in the making, no words on the progress status though. The Find 5 already was a pretty impressive entry in the flagship smartphone segment and the Find 7 could be even more successful. The rumored battery size sounds incredible, I hope this won’t have to much of an impact of thickness and weight though. The rest will be top-notch as well for sure. I am okay with the size of the Find 5 but the weight concerned my a little more. My personal limit for a 5″ would a weight of about 150g, I don’t really wanna go any heavier, only if the device really makes up for it in whole it would be something for me worth accepting. Another big advantage Oppo has compared to most other OEMs is the openness. The are part of the AOSP project which makes it the closest thing to a Nexus in terms of Custom ROM support. And it is a fact the Nexus line has the best and biggest XDA support. Yes, by now we have a thing called GPE (Google Play Edition), but that is not the same thing Oppo offers. A lot of people still don’t really realize the difference. AOSP means everything about the Oppo is open source and developers get everything they need to develop what they what, as with the Nexus line. But the HTC and Samsung code for their GPE is not open source, it is still in their hands to deliver updates. So a lot of things are still not accessible for developers which doesn’t make developing really easier than before. That’s one of Oppo’s biggest trump cards in my opinion. But besides that they also offer class leading build quality on par with HTC, some people even set it slightly above the One.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
There haven’t really been much specs leaked about this phone,the only sure thing for now seems to be the QSD800 and the usual 2GB of RAM, the very latest rumors even mention 3GB RAM. Not even the display size is settled. All initial rumors were talking about 5,99″ but lately we got new rumors which claimed a smaller size increase to only 5.7″ and then again the latest ones even mention a 5.99″ flexible display. So the biggest debate here is still the actual display size. But that’s to be expected since the display size is the most important part differentiating it them with usual 4.7″-5″ phones. But no matter what it will turn out to be, since it is a Galaxy device the success is almost guaranteed. Biggest concern will most probably again be the build material. Will they still go for cheap and hollow plastic or finally make a leap to more premium materials no matters which ones. The rest though won’t disappoint for sure. Samsung maybe doesn’t innovate that much anymore and most feature seems to just gimmicks but still they build top-notch solid devices, almost perfect all-rounders I’d say.
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Now let’s get to 2 phones that bug me the most because we still have no real evidence for them and their specs and such are more speculations than all the other phones combined…the next Nexus and the Motorola flagship(s),no not the mid-range one.
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Motorola ??? flagship(s)
If you read my last news article you should know I strongly refuse to give this phone a name by now. We heard things like Xfon, Moto X and Ultra (Maxx), but since there are so many and we don’t even have any concrete leaks about the flagships, I will just call it the “XYZ” from now on until we finally get something real. But at least it is almost sure we will se 2 flagship versions, the normal Ultra and the Ultra Maxx. Knowing Motorola from the past the should mostly be the same but the Maxx having a really huge battery,even though I don’t know yet how much bigger it can get if we see rumors of the Oppo Find 7 packing a 4000mAh battery. The display should most probably be a 5″ FullHD one, that is pretty sure since all major OEMs go for this size. Rest is pretty much a mystery. Latest rumors say the Ultra will be avilable in black, white and red. The Maxx in black and white. And of course it should also pack the QSD800. That’s it for the specs. I just hope Motorola will come up with a nice fresh design, at least 32GB+(expendable storage would be nice, but is unlikely since Motorola is Google company now and we all know Google doens’t want us to have that). Build quality won’t disappoint for sure, Motorola is know for its great quality. I also wish for it to have the same openness we know of Nexus devices. I am okay if it won’t be a Nexus as long as we get about the same benefits of having an actual Nexus. Since Google owns Motorola is dream isn’t too off I think.
Nexus 5
We don’t know a lot about the Moto flagship and to be honest nothing of the others above is set in stone yet or even less confirmed in any ways but the next Nexus is the biggest mystery of them all. We practically know nothing about it, not even which OEM is gonna make it. At first rumors came up LG will get another shot but a press release of LG was led us to believe LG is out of the game even though some are still confident in the fact LG will do it and the G2 will be the base for the next Nexus again. Then small rumors appeared of possible Sony Nexus based on the Honami which even led me to write a whole article about it how it make sense Sony being the next in line making the next Nexus. It is July and we still have no clue who it will be. But we still can assume some things. Looking at all the flagships specs something like this would make sense though
- QSD800
- 5″ FullHD display
- 2GB RAM
- 10MP+ front camera, 2MP+ rear camera
- Android 5.0 would make all the sense in the world to be to set it apart from the others being the first device running Key Lime Pie.
I won’t even try to speculate on materials since there are too many possibilities. Design-wise it would be more than ok if they go for a Nexus4-like front but maybe a slightly curved back this time similar to the One. It should also be grippy no matter how they do it, if soft touch or something like carbon fiber. I highly doubt it will be aluminum though since it would look to much like they are gonna copy HTC and Apple, also Eric Schmidt told us it will be very sturdy and I don’t really relate aluminum with that. Software-wise most people of course expect it to be the first device running Android 5.0 which is more than reasonable but Google also hinted to us they will include some features never seen on any phone before. Situation awareness seems to be the buzz word here, but let’s hope it will be more than just a phone that turns itself on when you take it out of your pocket. After all this is already possible with a couple if apps. Bluetooth low energy is almost a sure thing by now since we already saw code lines for it in leaked 4.3 GPE phones software. I have to admit one thing, Google is doing a brilliant job giving us just enough information to keep us all guessing without giving us anything tangible. But no matter what it will turn out to be, it is pretty sure it will be an extremely solid performing phones with an affordable price because that’s what the Nexus line is known for.
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If you still haven’t had enough, feel free to continue reading my personal thought about every of those devices and which is my current favorite from all the leaks and rumors we have at the moment.
Personal thoughts
Please keep in mind these are only my personal thoughts and how see those devices when thinking of one as my potential next phone. I am pretty confident my next one will be amongst those mentioned in this article. This means my criteria for a phone may very well differ from yours. If you read my article “My Dreamphone” and agree with it, then this could maybe help you knowing which one to keep a closer look at in the future. But I also hope it is of some help for all others as well. I am very rigorous on all phones but only because I think if I pay such a high amount of money for a phone and want to keep it for about 1-2 years it really should match as much of my criteria as possible and so it should yours.
HTC One Max
This phone will be important for HTC because of 2 things. First they are still recovering and trying to gain market share ans secondly this is their first attempt trying to build a phablet to compete against the Note 3. And they are not they only ones trying that anymore. Even though I think this will be an impressive phone I don’t think it will be my next one. The size is just a bit to big for me, I prefer 5″ and I am not that sure what HTC can offer the Note 3 won’t besides Boomsound and premium build quality. Also there will most probably be the usual HTC flaws I expect HTC to do once again. Bad hardware button placement like the power button on top but also their weird 2-button layout at the front like on the One. Custom ROM support will be good but since HTC does a lot of closed source stuff it won’t be easy to get everything working smoothly here. Many devices before confirmed this
LG G2
It looks like a nice device but it is also still just a LG. Don’t get me wrong, LG makes nice phones but nothing that really impresses me enough to really take it into the inner circle of phones to buy. If they manage to improve build quality and especially the premium feel in the hand things may change though. It is very important for me how a device actually feels in the hand. Yes, the screen, the perfomance and most other things will be great but others are able to do this as well. I am also still a bit sceptical about the volume buttons at the back. There is one major reason as well though. LG isn’t know for great XDA support, I highly doubt I will get the custom ROMs I want to have on my phone. Running stock as good as it may be just isn’t really an option for me. A good custom ROM support is a Must-have for me.
Sony i1 (Honami)
What was almost a clear candidate for the inner circle quickly became an outsider just because of the leaked pictures. So many things that repel me by now. The “shatterproof” display which will most likely be a poor solution using a screen protector again, the bezel that just seems oddly thick for a 2013 flagship device, the design which still reminds me way to much on the Xperia line which doesn’t let me relate this device to a “One Sony” device because it just looks like any other phone they did before are just a few things that pop-up in my mind why I don’t consider to buy the Sony anymore.
Oppo Find 7
Ok, here is what I expect to get from this device. Amazing perfomance,affordable price, top-notch build quality and beautiful design, according to rumored specs incredible battery life and the best custom ROM besides an actual Nexus device. There is not really a lot that can go wrong here. But there are a few variables I need to be confirmed until I can make a real decision. Those would be the buttons, I don’t want any capacitive ones, I really want them to go the Google way and do software buttons. Also I am a bit concerned on the size and weight. If they get rid of the capacitive buttons they could decrease the height a bit and the width of the Find 5 already was ok, this would be really great. But packing a 4000mAh battery can’t really be end up with a lightweight device anymore but who knows maybe Oppo can prove me wrong here, I’d be more than happy with that. After all I am one of those people who cry for longer battery life too, so I can’t blame Oppo if they do it and the device ends up being heavier than others with about 1000mAh less. This phone is definitely in my inner circle.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
It is almost set it stone this will be the best-selling phablet this year, but pretty much the same I said about the HTC One Max applies here as well. A bit too big for me. And if they continue to build those
greasy
glossy plastic phones it just makes my decision easier. Nowadays a lot of competitors already offer a more premium feel so why settle for less because it won’t offer that much more than others. A better S-Pen support maybe and some maybe even useful gimmicks but I won’t be able to use most of those anyways running a custom ROM. So, inner circle? Most probably not.
Motorola “XYZ”
If it turns out to be I wish for it to be than yes, this will be in my inner circle. But everything is just to open for speculation so I can say anything for sure. My guts tell me Motorola will make a really huge and impressive comeback but who knows for sure what will happen. Not knowing anything about design, materials and so many other things being unclear it is just impossible but with Google in their back the groundwork is there to deliver something really big. Of course it is still not clear in what extend Google really is involved in the whole process of making this phone.
Nexus 5
Same as with the Note 3 and the One Max things apply again to the Nexus I already said about the Motorola. But even more drastically since we don’t even know the OEM to build it yet. But at least things like best Custom ROM support as well as a solid device with a good price are almost completely sure.
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To sum it up, the 3 devices in my inner circle right now are the Oppo Find 7, Motorola XYZ and the Nexus “X”. I really hope all my speculations aren’t too off and the future will prove me mostly right.
What do you think? Am I insane trying to predict upcoming phones which are still so far away just by some leaked specs and rumors or do you at least partially agree? And which of these rumored devices is your personal favorite?
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